


Reichenbach

by place_called_space



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Rebels, Supernatural
Genre: BAMF Ezra Bridger, BlackBerry - Freeform, Dark Ezra Bridger, Ezra is a badass and no one can convince me otherwise, Ezra was captured by the Empire, F/M, Gen, Hurt Sabine Wren, Inquisitor Ezra Bridger, Kanan isn't blind, Mentioned Darth Vader, Minor Character Death, Original Inquisitor - Freeform, Parental Hera Syndulla, Parental Kanan Jarrus, Protective Garazeb "Zeb" Orrelios, The Dark Side of the Force, Vader trained him, aka dark blueberry, contains a scene from hitman: agent 47, elevator scene from captain america: the winter soldier, he just has a rad scar, kind of a parody but not really, supernatural dialogue, vader is a proud dad, vader is very proud of his apprentice
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-17
Updated: 2020-09-14
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:53:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,892
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24949513
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/place_called_space/pseuds/place_called_space
Summary: If you're good at something, you might as well get paid for it.or, in which Ezra and Zeb make a bet and, as expected, it gets out of hand. Then some Purge Troopers get involved, some stormtroopers and an Inquisitor with an ax to grind.
Relationships: Ezra Bridger & Kanan Jarrus, Kanan Jarrus/Hera Syndulla
Comments: 13
Kudos: 42





	1. in which everything goes wonderfully wrong

**Author's Note:**

> some context :
> 
> Ezra was captured by the Empire shortly after Season 2. Darth Vader, knowing of his previous connections to the Dark Side, decides to train the boy himself. Ezra is a quick study and advances to the rank of Grand Inquisitor in no time at all. Kanan, during a meeting with the new Inquisitor, knocks off his mask with a lucky shot and sees the face of the son he thought was dead. Ezra is knocked out and taken to the Rebel base, where he eventually rejoins the crew of the Ghost as a Jedi. He refuses to use his lightsaber, which the Ghost crew doesn't oppose because they think he has some kind of PTSD from his training with Vader. He prefers to rely on the blaster he'd been given by the Alliance. 
> 
> Eventually, the Ghost and its crew are back in the field, sticking it to Imperials just like normal. Ezra has been holding back, afraid that using the full extent of his powers will cause the crew to reject him, as he is no longer the Jedi he was. It's been going well, surprisingly. At least until now.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Damn it, Wren," he growled as he shot another two troopers and ducked into a room. "I'm up to my neck in Imps here."
> 
> "I'm trying, Spectre Six. Give me a few minutes."
> 
> He heard the frustration in her voice. He just couldn't find it within himself to care. "I don't have a few minutes! Get me a way out of here, Five. Now."
> 
> He angrily shut off his comm and chilled in the room a bit, relaxing and checking how much ammo he had left. He hadn't stocked up on much before he left, as this was supposed to be a stealth mission.
> 
> Ezra sighed. Zeb better give him the twenty credits he owed him when he got out of this.

Stealth missions sucked. 

Infiltrations were short and boring, with no excitement whatsoever. He'd always prefer a straight fight to all this sneaking around. Yet here he was, prowling his way through the corridors of an Imperial base, carrying a datacard with some information that the Alliance saw as 'critical for the survival of the Rebellion' or whatever. He just hated that they had him crawling through the ventilation shafts again. 

His elbow banged against the metal for what must've been the thirteenth time and he cursed as he continued his walk of shame. "I have a lightsaber, I can use the Force, I had rank, I had power. I was once one of the most feared people in the galaxy and here I am, crawling through pipes like a scrap rat."

" _Cut the chatter, Spectre 6. You have a job to do_."

Ezra rolled his eyes, but only because he knew that the Twi'lek couldn't see it. "The job's _done_ , boss. I don't need to be in these vents anymore." He eyed the cobwebs warily. "I should just fight my way out of here."

A burst of static that sounded like Zeb laughing was annoyingly loud in his ear. " _You'll never make it out of that base alive_."

He cringed as he was forced to pass through another spider web. "I'll take that bet, Spectre Four."

" _You don't have the guts_."

"Well it's an intriguing prospect, but it's no easy maneuver," he added, shifting in a way that made his shoulder cramp a bit. "What are you willing to pay if I survive?"

" _Fair enough. I'll give you ten if you can make it happen_."

Ezra scoffed. "I wasn't born this morning, Four. Thirty will be fine."

" _I'm not givin' ya gold for copper, kid_."

"Twenty-five."

" _I'll do fourteen_."

"Twenty-two."

" _Maybe seventeen_."

"Twenty."

A pause, then, " _I can do that_."

Ezra exhaled sharply through his nose, smirking. "You're on, Spectre Four."

" _I said to cut the chatter, Spectre 6. Complete the mission. Quietly_."

Ezra pouted. "But - "

" _That's an order, Lieutenant_."

Ezra swallowed his pride and didn't say anything. Hera had recently started pulling rank on him, something she had never done before his brief stint as an Inquisitor. "Copy that, _General._ " He bit his tongue. "Moving to the extraction point." He quickened his pace as much as he could without making noise, hurrying as fast as he could through the vents. His back was aching and he was sure to have bruises in his knees and elbows in the morning but it would all be worth it if Hera didn't make him clean the carbon scoring on the hull of the Ghost again. 

After a few turns and like twelve more spiderwebs in his hair, he could see a light ahead of him and he let out a relieved breath. 

"Closing in on the extraction point, Spectre Two. ETA, 45 seconds." 

" _Message received, Spectre Six_."

A pair of stormtroopers passed underneath him, speaking loud enough that he could hear their conversation. He paused, as to not alert them to his location. 

"I can take apart my blaster and put it back together in less than 12 seconds."

"What do you want, a medal?"

"Yes!" A pause. "You think they give those for that?"

The annoyed stormtrooper sighed. "You are truly an asset to the Empire."

Ezra stifled a laugh and kept going, eventually reaching a vent that blocked his progress. Taking a tool from his belt, he started working on loosening the screws holding it in place. Another pair of stormtroopers were under him, guarding the entrance to the base. 

"A Purge Trooper complimented me recently."

"Very good. Yeah, the Inquisitor tried to compliment me but I was too busy fighting."

At the mention of Purge Troopers and an Inquisitor, Ezra froze, or at least he thought he did. In reality, he straightened up - well, as much as he could in the cramped space - and banged his head on the top of the vent. He let out a string of profanity, venturing into using various Huttesse and Mando'a swear words he had learned over the years. Thankfully, the bang of his skull on the metal vent was loud enough to drown out his cursing. 

Wait, that wasn't good either. 

"What was that?"

"What was _what_?"

"That noise! I swear I heard something."

"Have you eaten your rations yet?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

As they continued to argue, Ezra took the opportunity to nudge his earpiece with his shoulder. "I've been compromised," he murmured. "Requesting permission to abandon stealth and move to Plan B."

" _Permission granted, Spectre Six. Moving to intercept_."

"Copy that. Breaking formation now."

True to his cue, Ezra extended his hand and used the Force to break the section of duracrete surrounding the vent, abandoning the pretense of silence. He dropped down behind the stormtrooper duo that was supposed to be guarding the doors and waited for them to notice he was there. When there was no outward reaction, he wondered how the helmets they were wearing limited the senses so much that they missed the cracking of actual stone. 

"What do you think flame beetles taste like?" 

Only Ezra's years of training as both a Jedi and an Inquisitor allowed him to not burst out laughing. 

One stormtrooper was looking at his counterpart incredulously - well, as incredulous as he could through his helmet. " _What?_ "

"You know, are they spicy? Because of the, uh... the fire?"

"I don't think it works like that."

Ezra decided to get involved in this pressing matter, waving a hand dismissively. "No, no. He's got a point."

As both stormtroopers turned to look at him, Ezra decided to take advantage of the fact that their blaster's safeties were still on. He punched Flame Beetle Trooper in the helmet, knocking it off, and held him in place as he drove his knee into his stomach, pivoting to kick the other trooper in the chest and sending him crashing to the floor. The unmasked trooper, still kind of out of it, wasn't aware enough to offer any resistance as Ezra used his momentum to throw him bodily into his friend, both of them collapsing to the floor in a clatter of armor. 

A blaster cocked behind him. "Hands up!" Not missing a beat, Ezra spun around, unclipping his blaster as he went. He squeezed the trigger and the stormtrooper slumped to the floor, a smoking hole in his armor. After a moment of deliberation, he shot the control panel for the blast doors too. The last thing he needed was Imperial reinforcements. 

He took off sprinting down the corridor, not caring how loud his armored boots were on the durasteel floor. Now that his cover was blown, he had to make it to the turbolift before they locked down the base completely. He can survive with them locking down certain sectors, but if they put the whole base on emergency lockdown, he'd have no chance of escape. 

Also, he _really_ wanted to prove Zeb wrong. The twenty credits he'd swindled out of him were just icing on the cake. 

"Spectre Five, give me an exit route."

" _On it_."

He ran for a while, shooting stormtroopers who got in his way. Unfortunately for him, he couldn't make any real progress if he didn't have a way out. He'd memorized the vents, not the layout of the entire building. He could run himself in circles searching for a way out and he'd only be giving the Imperials more time to catch up to him. 

Then the lights shut off and he was plunged in darkness. The lights started flashing red and an alarm started ringing out. Thankfully, Vader made Ezra memorize all of the alarms and codes that were standard for any Imperial soldier. This one was just an 'Eyes Up' or, as it was officially known, a 'Red Alert'. 

Anger bloomed within him and he grabbed him comlink. "Damn it, Wren," he growled as he shot another two troopers and ducked into a room. "I'm up to my neck in Imps here."

" _I'm trying, Spectre Six. Give me a few minutes_."

He heard the frustration in her voice. He just couldn't find it within himself to care. "I don't have a few minutes! Get me a way out of here, Five. _Now_."

He angrily shut off his comm and chilled in the room a bit, relaxing and checking how much ammo he had left. He hadn't stocked up on much before he left, as this was supposed to be a stealth mission.

13 shots left and he had to make every single one count. 

At least until he put in the new power pack he carried for emergencies. Thank Shiraya for that. 

The door to his room hissed open and he rolled behind cover, which was a particularly cluttered jumble of pipes that concealed his body as long as no one looked too closely. Two stormtroopers walked past his hiding place, back to back and not straying more than a few feet from each other. How cute. They thought sticking together would save them. 

A third stormtrooper was bringing up the rear of the group, looking forward with his blaster ready. Ezra took his fiber wire from his belt and grinned, spreading the wire between his hands. This was going to be fun. 

Waiting until the trooper was just about to pass his position, Ezra sprang into action. The stormtrooper's panic was evident in the Force, even as he turned his blaster on Ezra. Batting it away indifferently, he punched the trooper with his other hand and eventually bringing both hands up and around the trooper's neck, locking the fiber wire in place. The stormtrooper fruitlessly struggled to make a sound loud enough to be heard over the alarms and the blinking red lights. Turning and pulling, Ezra yanked the stormtrooper over his shoulder, flipping him over and dragging him behind some pipes toward the back of the room. 

One down, two to go. 

_Thirteen_.

Ezra could sense that there was only one left in the room. The other one was just outside, guarding the other side of the door. They were talking to each other in hushed voices, so quiet that he couldn't hear what they were saying. He could sense the fear though and that was enough. 

The Force user pulled the trigger and the trooper in the room fell with a thud, his counterpart barely beginning to turn off the safety before he was felled the same way. Ezra stepped over the bodies with charred holes in their helmets and continued out of the room, extending his senses and trusting the Force to lead him. 

_Eleven_.

He walked with his blaster in hand and ended up in the place where all the floors met, stairs winding up and down the different levels, doors dotting the walls. One of the doors opened suddenly and a stormtrooper stepped through, gun raised and ready to fire. Unfortunately for him, Ezra was faster and there was a smoking hole in his chest before he even squeezed the trigger. 

_Ten_. 

Another door opened, closer this time and to his right. An E-11 was raised and Ezra darted forward, pushing the blaster down and away before bringing it up again, snapping the stormtrooper's wrist. A blaster bolt to the chest cut off the scream. The Force gave him a slight nudge and he obeyed, moving his head out of the way. A blaster bolt whizzed past his ear and charred the wall where his head just was. At the same time, he maneuvered himself so he was using the stormtrooper as a shield, taking advantage of the other's hesitation and shooting him in the chest. He then twisted his body and released his hold on his shield, who was still clinging onto life. Ezra shot him in the helmet this time, hooking his elbow behind his knee and flipping him over the barrier. The body hit the rail before hitting the floor, snapping the spine in two pieces. 

_Seven_. 

Two more stormtroopers rushed out of a door, both were shot. They fell to the floor, motionless as their comrades who had met the same fate. 

_Five_. 

The room was almost fully illuminated in red light, the stormtroopers blasters making up the difference of the blinking lights. None of them even came close to Ezra, who was using the Force to move them safely away. He couldn't use his lightsaber and reveal himself yet, lest he draw the attention of the Inquisitor and the Purge Troopers that were apparently on base. He started walking down the stairs, shooting two troopers who were shooting at him from both sides. One shot at him from the floor he just left and he crouched, bringing his blaster up and squeezing the trigger. 

_Two_. 

Another shot at him from two floors down and Ezra leaned forward and rolled down the stairs, landing in a crouch when they leveled off. He pulled the trigger and the stormtrooper was blasted backward, colliding with the wall with a clatter of armor. 

Ezra ejected his power pack then. He had one more shot but he could sense more troopers coming and he wouldn't have time to reload in the middle of a shootout. Sliding the extra power pack from its place on the side of his boot, he popped it in and clicked it in place. As the stormtroopers got closer, he checked his ammo. 

_One hundred_. 

They entered then and Ezra stood from his crouch. Squeezing the trigger one, two, three times before he started descending. He reached the next floor and a blaster bolt hit the rail near his side and he pivoted, pulling the trigger and dispatching another stormtrooper. 

One charged at him from the side and Ezra sidestepped, hitting the hand that was aiming for his face. His other hand came up and punched the stormtrooper in the throat. He immediately started gasping for breath and Ezra reached over him and grabbed the back of his armor. Pulling on the securely fastened strap, Ezra spun the stormtrooper around until he was standing two feet away, looking dazed.

Ezra raised his blaster and shot him in the skull before he could recover. 

He spun and emptied another two bolts in a trooper that was aiming at him from the top of the stairs. He continued walking, intend on reaching the turbolift on the bottom floor. Another door opened and - lo and behold - another stormtrooper emerged. Slightly annoyed at how bland this was getting, Ezra blocked the punch, kicked him in the crotch, and twisted his arm around his back before slamming his head into a wall, shooting him at point-blank range. To Ezra's surprise, and mild disgust, his face was sprayed with blood and other fluids, making him grimace and twist his face in an attempt to protect his eyes and mouth. Ezra, seriously regretting not wearing his mask, stumbled back, sputtering and spitting out the taste of iron in his mouth. 

This was _so_ not worth twenty credits. 

The wall next to his face exploded with the force of a bolt that came too close to singeing his ear. Spinning around, Ezra saw a stormtrooper at the top of the stairs leading down to the bottom floor. A swift kick to the chest sent him tumbling down, his armor making an awful racket when it hit the durasteel stairs. Ezra walked down and raised his blaster, only to lower it as he realized that the trooper was already dead. He was about to continue walking down when he saw a strangely elongated shadow move to his right. An instant later, Ezra squeezed a trigger and a body fell from two floors up, a helmeted head hitting the rail before slapping against the floor. 

Satisfied with his efficiency, Ezra holstered his blaster and walked to the turbolift, pressing the call button and tapping his foot, humming the tune of _Glory of the Empire_. A ping sounded out and the call button lit up, signaling the arrival of the turbolift. It was risky taking the lift. They could seal all the exits and cut the wires, leaving him to plummet several stories to the ground and die in a fiery explosion. 

Not such a horrible way to go but still, it was the principle of the thing. 

The doors opened and six Purge Troopers were waiting for him. One of them had two electrobatons strapped to his back and wore a red pauldron on his right shoulder, matching the kamas he wore that had sections of red, which struck Ezra as familiar but he couldn't recognize from where. Either way, he was the Commander. The rest looked unarmed but the way they were holding themselves said that they weren't weaponless. They _were_ the weapons. 

Still, Ezra smirked and stepped inside, turning his back on them to look at the doors as they closed. They moved to surround him, keeping it surprisingly subtle under the guise of making room to stand a comfortable distance apart. With three on each side of him, Ezra was effectively cornered.

Or so they thought. 

"Ground level, please," Ezra said to the Commander with the brightest smile he could muster. A burst of annoyance through the Force and Ezra's grin widened as the Commander turned to look over his shoulder. They looked stared each other down until the Commander cocked his head and turned back around, pressing the button for the ground level. 

They started moving. 

Unfortunately, they only moved up a few floors before they slowed to a stop and Ezra frowned at the interruption. The doors opened and three more Purge Troopers were waiting, unarmed but armed at the same time. 

Ezra bit back a sigh. He was _definitely_ gonna be sore tomorrow. 

Instead, he watched the new troopers file into the turbolift, racking up the total Purge Trooper count to nine. They moved around him to avoid being squished against each other. Ezra didn't miss how the Commander took one of his electrobatons from their holster. A sneak attack.

"Records." One of the newbies said. The Commander turned to look at the one who'd spoken, seemingly miffed at having to be the one pressing the buttons all the time. The Purge Trooper who'd spoken ducked his head and seemed to deflate before finally moving forward and pressing the button himself. 

Ezra could've burst out laughing but he forced his face into a neutral expression, barely keeping his composure. The doors closed and they started moving again, now on the way to the ground level as Ezra had originally intended. He was now completely surrounded in a moving turbolift. 

"Before we get started," Ezra began, cocking his head to the side. "Does anyone want to get out?"

There was a tense moment where no one said anything and he could feel confusion emanating from the troopers who'd just entered the turbolift. It occurred to him that because of the dark colors he was wearing and the lack of attack from the Purge Troopers already in the lift, the three who'd just entered probably assumed he was Imperial or maybe even a bounty hunter. 

Then the Commander turned on his electrobaton, bathing the lift in purple light. He turned and thrust at Ezra's midsection, though he just sidestepped used the trooper's momentum to send him into his comrades. The elctrobaton fell to the floor. 

Suddenly, as Ezra was about to pull his blaster from his holster, he was grabbed from behind. His arm was slammed against the wall and the blaster fell from his hands with a clatter. He pushed out with his legs, slamming his attacker into the blast doors, but the grip around him didn't loosen. The lift came to a sudden halt, making everyone inside stumble and try to regain their balance. Someone slapped a cuff on his wrist and it immediately started pulling him to the door frame, which was the densest piece of metal in the lift. Struggling against the magnetic pull of one cuff, Ezra barely noticed as someone grabbed his left arm and attempted to place another one on. 

Wait, he was pulling out. What if he pulled _down_?

When he did, it was significantly easier to escape the magnet's pull and he singled out at the one who'd tried to bind him, kicking him in the knee and relishing in the sick crack that followed. The one who was holding Ezra's right arm was smashed into the wall as he lashed out with the Force. He elbowed the trooper trying to cuff his left arm and the binder went flying, eventually sticking soundly to the metal wall of the lift. 

One tried to charge him and Ezra kicked him back. Another went for a punch but Ezra jabbed at his throat with the side of his hand, sending him reeling backward. He caught another with his elbow. All the troopers were either standing warily at the edges of the lift or were on the floor at the edge of the lift. 

Ezra finally had room to move. 

Grinning, he slammed his head into the face of the one holding him, grabbed his arm, and flipped him over his shoulder. The trooper slammed into the durasteel with a loud bang, landing atop his fellow soldiers. It must've been dreadfully uncomfortable for them, as he was the largest one of the group. 

Forgetting about the cuff on his wrist, Ezra allowed the Commander to kick his arm back from his attempted punch, intending to twist around and attack him from behind. Unfortunately for him, his wrist got caught on the metal wall and got stuck. Oh, joy. 

As Ezra was working on getting his hand free, the Commander went to lash out with his other baton but he blocked it with his free hand, jerking out of the way of the next punch aimed for his ribs. Unfortunately, that left him open to an attack from behind, something the Commander must've noticed.

The electricity wasn't as strong as the Emperor's lightning but it still hurt like a bitch. 

He arched his back and he let out a yell through gritted teeth. Thankfully, another trooper went to punch him in the face and Ezra was able to disguise an attack with an evade. He jerked his head backward, avoiding the punch, and drove his elbow into the Commander's face. He grabbed the trooper who tried to punch him by the throat and tossed him into the lift's wall, the steel denting slightly. 

Some Purge Trooper had picked up one of the Commander's electrobatons and went to stab him with it. Another went to attack his right flank, something Ezra gleefully took advantage of by using the first trooper's momentum to drive the electrobaton into the second trooper's chest. Ezra punched the one holding the electrobaton, sending him careening to the steel wall and hitting his head on it. 

Still quite peeved that his arm was still stuck to the damn door frame, Ezra used both his legs to kick out at the Commander and the Purge Trooper he'd electrocuted earlier. They stumbled backward into the walls on either side of him. 

Deflecting a punch from a Purge Trooper and kicking him in the chest, Ezra decided he'd had enough. Relying on the strength of the magnet to keep him from falling immediately, he jumped up and placed his feet solidly on the doors, pushing with his legs and pulling with his upper body. His muscles ached and he was positive the bruise on his back from the baton was gonna turn out to be a burn. 

He can never catch a break, can he?

There were two Purge Troopers left standing and the Commander was stirring from his position on the floor. Either way, the cuff came loose from the wall and Ezra flipped backward, landing on his feet in a crouch. He straightened and hit the one on his right with his elbow, ducked under a punch thrown by the one on his left, and launched a punch of his own, hitting the left one in the stomach and leaving him out of breath. Another punch across the face and he was down for good. Ezra flipped the other one over his shoulder and into the wall. He fell and didn't get back up. 

The Commander, unfortunately, was as energetic as ever, bringing his electrobatons down in an arc. 

Ezra caught the attack with his armored forearms. He didn't waste a second before launching an attack of his own: a jab and a hook. Both were dodged and the trooper moved around him to hit his side in a sweeping kick. Ezra caught the leg and swung his attacker forward. He hit the wall and knocked his helmet off but stood tall, batons in a defensive position. 

Ezra met the brown eyes of the Purge Trooper and his jaw nearly smacked the floor. "Hemlock?" he asked disbelievingly. "That you?"

The man's head tilted and his eyes narrowed "Who's Hemlock?" 

Ezra's heart fell into his stomach and his stance weakened. "They reprogrammed you." He mumbled, anger flooding him at his friend's treatment. 

"Stop talking and fight, Jedi." He sneered, looking ruthless and bloodthirsty and Ezra knew.

This wasn't his friend. This was an Imperial Purge Trooper bent on killing him. It was kill, or be killed. 

Ezra closed his eyes and time seemed to slow around him. 

The side of him that was a Jedi rebelled immediately and blanched at the thought of killing someone who wasn't in control of their actions. The Light within him struggled to be heard, screaming that he couldn't kill this man, this man who was his friend, who he fought side by side with.

But the Inquisitor in him, the one who was trained by Vader, no longer saw Hemlock as a friend. He was a liability, a threat. A loose end that had to be tied up. The Darkness whispered to him, saying that he had to kill Hemlock because he knew everything about him, he was someone he'd confided in. 

This conflict was nothing new. 

Ezra took a deep breath and opened his eyes. Time sped up and the fight resumed. 

A fist was aimed at his face and he dodged, ducking and ramming his shoulder into the Commander's stomach. He drove them to the wall and slammed the Purge Trooper up against it, using the momentary distraction to punch him across the face. He sagged against the wall, but Ezra wasn't done. 

A kick to the chest, a punch to the ribs, an elbow to the solar plexus. He was coughing up blood now but Ezra didn't care. He had to stand out for the plan to work. 

Another punch and the Commander was slumped against the wall, unconscious. Just another defeated Purge Trooper in a turbolift full of defeated Purge Troopers. 

Fortunately for them, Vader wouldn't see it that way. 


	2. no more mr. nice guy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the boiler room and the elevator, Ezra was looking forward to getting back to base and sleeping for the next hundred years. Unfortunately for him, his stint inside the Imperial base caught some unwanted attention and now an Inquisitor is out for blood. 
> 
> After keeping his increased skill under wraps for the past few months, will now be the time to reveal himself?

The blast doors opened and Ezra, too busy wiping blood off of his armor to look up, sighed, happy to finally be done with this Force-forsaken mission. He looked up, expecting to see the Ghost waiting on the edge of the landing pad, ready for him to get on board and sleep for the next three days. 

Instead, he saw a short man (or perhaps a very tall child) waiting for him.

"Wow. It's really you."

Ezra gave the Inquisitor a disbelieving look and clipped his lightsaber to his belt again. He probably wouldn't need it anyway. "We met?"

"We spoke a few days ago."

His eyebrows jumped up and he cracked a smile. "Right, right. You're the guy gunning for my job. Said you wanted to drive your lightsaber through my chest." He raised an eyebrow and looked pointedly at his body, a smirk playing across his lips. "Did you miss?"

"Well, I had a better idea. I figure if I let word slip that there was some valuable information inside this base, you'd come running and all I had to do was just tag along." He paused and spread his arms wide. "And now here we are, finally - Ezra Bridger."

Ezra didn't bother trying to stifle the groan. "Oh, great. A groupie."

They started circling each other. Raising an eyebrow at the Inquisitor's tense posture and jerky gait, Ezra worked to keep his posture unassumingly relaxed. He brought himself up to his full height, thanking the gods for letting him grow more than a few inches in the past few months. 

"You remember me?" The Inquisitor asked, his voice modified by the helmet he wore. 

Ezra scoffed, rolling his eyes and waving a hand dismissively. "Yeah, yeah. You're that guy from that thing."

"Korriban. Seven months, two weeks, and five days ago."

Ezra wanted to punch him but smirked instead. Their meeting must've been important for him to keep track of how much time had passed. "That supposed to ring a bell?"

The Inquisitor snarled and Ezra knew he touched a nerve by acting naïve. "It was the night you gutted and murdered a man by the name of Lohsâl Sul." A brief pause. "He was my father."

Oh. 

Vader had taken him from his castle on Mustafar to the Sith homeworld of Korriban to oversee the training of the new Initiates and to see how far Ezra had progressed in his training. It took five different Initiates ganging up on him to get a single hit. That was all they were able to get. 

After that, they pitted him against a Sith Elder - this Lohsâl Sul guy - who was supposed to be the best of the best. Their Agni Kai, a centuries-old Sith tradition that involved a lot of ceremonial face paint and violence, ended with Ezra's lightsaber through Sul's chest.

Vader was very amused and, dare he say, proud. 

Ezra shrugged. "Okay?"

The Inquisitor paused and took a step back. "Okay?"

"Well, hey," Ezra said, walking closer to the boy in front of him. "I'm not saying I didn't slice and dice your old man. I'm just saying that he wasn't the first and he certainly wasn't the last, and they all just kind of get blended up."

The Inquisitor stumbled forward, almost tripping over this own feet. "I saw you...That night...After. You let me live. That was dumb, real dumb." He paused and seemed to steady himself, the Force swirling around him in weak little waves. "I spent my entire life training for this moment. I've played out this fight a thousand times in my mind. And I know all about you, Ezra. And you're good. Oh, you're real good. But, you see, I'm better."

Ezra looked the Inquisitor in the face (or mask?) and leaned forward. "Prove it." he hissed, raising his arms to display his weaponless nature. "Take your shot."

Sure, he was wearing armor. It wouldn't stop a lightsaber, but it wasn't like it was gonna get that far. He wasn't an amateur.

The Inquisitor raised his hand and Ezra felt the Force reach out to him, ghosting across his neck. Ezra chuckled. The boy's hold on the Force was pitifully weak. He was nothing but a drop in the ocean of power Ezra held. Ezra was a supernova and a black hole rolled into one and he knew it. 

The Inquisitor laughed and put his hand down. "Now, now, that's not payback." He pulled his lightsaber from his belt to his hand, igniting the blood-red blade. "This is payback."

He darted forward, blade humming as he stabbed and slashed at Ezra, trying to get a hit on him. Ezra moved out of the way each time, not even removing his lightsaber from his belt. The Inquisitor stabbed again and Ezra sidestepped, grabbing his wrist and pulling him forward. The boy was swept off his feet as he crashed to the floor. He rolled into a crouch, glaring at Ezra the entire time. 

Ezra just smiled condescendingly, arrogance just oozing from his stance. 

Another stab and Ezra grabbed his wrist (again) and drove his elbow forward into the other man's arm at the joint. There was a sharp crack and the Inquisitor let out a strangled scream, the sound almost ripping itself from his throat. His lightsaber fell to the floor with a metallic clang.

The Inquisitor scrambled backward like a wounded animal, cradling his broken arm. He let out a frustrated shout and lunged at Ezra again, this time with a punch and a kick. Ezra caught his opponent's leg and drove his knee into it.

It bent the wrong way, the impossibly loud snap echoing across the courtyard. 

Another agonized scream. Ezra kicked the whimpering Inquisitor away, his mouth set in a disgusted scowl. He turned around and called his opponent's lightsaber to his hand, dismantling it without a second thought. 

"You know..." he said, tossing screws and levers and wires over his shoulder as he spoke. "And I'm just spitballing here, but, uh, maybe..." He turned around, sharp features illuminated by the glowing red cyber crystal floating above his palm. "...you're not as good as you think you are."

He smiled, sharp as glass, and slowly started clenching his fist. The Force roared around him, rolling off of him in dark, cold waves of power. The Inquisitor collapsed in on himself and shivered.

Cracks started appearing in the crystal and the Inquisitor gasped in pain, lifting his head to look at the indifferent expression of the powerhouse above him. "No..." he grunted, reaching out a hand from his curled position on the floor. "Stop..."

Ezra smirked, a terrible thing that would give the Inquisitor nightmares for the rest of his life, however short it may be. He reached out with the Force and lifted the Inquisitor to his feet by the neck, taking his time in walking forward. He lifted the helmet off his opponent's head, revealing bloodshot yellow eyes rimmed with red and lips that were slowly turning purple, contrasting to the red skin commonly associated with Sith Purebloods. Cheek tendrils capped with gold beads quivered with fear, terror paralyzing the normally intimidating appendages.

"Stop, please..." The boy - because that's all he really was - gasped, crimson skin darkening and spit flying from his lips as he begged for mercy. 

Ezra was smiling now, sharp canines glinting in the sunlight. His hand grasped the boy's chin and forced him to meet his gaze, yellow meeting blue.

"You know, I just realized something. You and your dad look a helluva lot alike..." He trailed off, lips quirking up when he saw the wide yellow eyes, the sweaty face, the trembling fingers. "...when you beg."

Terror. Fear so pure Ezra felt lightheaded as he threw his head back and laughed, clenching his fist so tight his knuckles were white underneath his leather glove.

The cyber crystal shattered, sending out a small kinetic shockwave, both in the real world and through the Force. 

The tortured Inquisitor let out another scream, this time so raw and full of anguish that it released a bit of power, compliments of the Dark Side. Ezra raised an unimpressed eyebrow and dropped the boy unceremoniously. He fell to the floor with a pained grunt, the only interruption to his soft sobs. 

Releasing his hold on the remnants of the shattered crystal, Ezra stepped over them, crunching the clear shards under his boots. 

Hollow yellow eyes locked on the shards that used to be his crystal, the Inquisitor looked defeated, bloody and bruised after the embarrassingly one-sided fight. 

Ezra walked over to the downed child, leaning over mockingly with his hands on his knees. "What did you think was gonna happen, huh? You just stroll up here and say 'you killed my father, prepare to die,' and I'd just roll over? Well, that's just..." he paused, eyebrows furrowed and lips pursed in disappointment. "...it makes me sad."

The Force abruptly screamed a warning and there was a flash of silver. Ezra tensed and yanked his head backward but not fast enough. The Inquisitor's knife slashed a long cut across his cheek, blood immediately spilling from the wound in bright red waves.

His hand instinctively going to cover the wound, and getting blood on his glove as a result, Ezra looked at the Inquisitor in disbelief, eyes wide with surprise. He pulled back his hand, staring at the blood with a raised eyebrow. He looked up and glared at the boy, who shivered as the temperature seemed to drop rapidly, his breath coming out as white little clouds of vapor. 

Yellow eyes locked with blue and narrowed as the Inquisitor thrust forward, intending to stab Ezra in the stomach. The raven-haired Force wielder sidestepped and threw out his hand. The boy froze in place as though submerged in carbonite. 

Only his eyes darted around frantically, panic echoing through the Force.

Ezra smiled dangerously and started circling him like an animal, eyes colder than the ice caves of Ilum. "You have no idea what you walked into here, do you? None."

Vader's prized apprentice stopped in front of him, not quite facing him, hands clasped behind his back. The Inquisitor's eyes drifted down, watching as the skin on Ezra's cheek knit itself together layer by layer until the wound was gone completely, the only remnant being the blood that had spilled. Terror flooded him as he was slowly unraveled from his aggressive position, limbs operating against his will with jerky movements. 

Ezra suddenly turned around and lashed out with the Force, expression dark with rage. The Inquisitor gasped as a noose closed around his neck and he was yanked forward by it like it was a leash. His boots skidded and skipped across the bumps in the durasteel floor as he rocketed toward Ezra, whose hand closed tightly around his neck. 

"What...are you...?" The Inquisitor gurgled, the words catching in his throat as he batted at Ezra's arm with his hands. The yellow in his eyes faded to a watery brown as he looked into Ezra's eyes, the blue orbs as cold as the vacuum of space. 

"Me?" Ezra asked, bringing the Inquisitor in close. He laughed as the Inquisitor stopped breathing, fear taking hold. Finally, he sneered and fixed the boy with a hard glare, a hint of madness in his eyes. "Nu'm viskas tu geida tu could buti."

'I'm everything you wish you could be.'

The Inquisitor choked, black spots starting to creep in from the edge of his vision, motions becoming sluggish and weak.

Snorting in disgust, Ezra slammed his head against the Inquisitor's, who stumbled back with a pained yelp. A punch broke his nose, a knee driving into his ribs and then he was thrown bodily across the landing pad, his body slamming against the crates stacked there and crumpling to the ground. 

Panting, out of breath and injured, the Inquisitor raised his head with some effort expecting to see Ezra standing over him like he had done to his father before him all those months ago. What he saw instead made his heart drop to his stomach. 

Ezra was sauntering toward him, wearing an evil smirk that made the Inquisitor's heart rate skyrocket. Ezra reached across his body and pulled his lightsaber from his belt, igniting the blade with a flick of his wrist, a flourish the Inquisitor had seen his Master do many times before. Ezra didn't have a cape and wasn't wearing all black like Vader did, but the way the shadows clung to him, ice seeming to spread with each step, made him so much worse. Then, of course, there was the lightsaber itself. 

The blade was as red as the fires of Mustafar, which was where Vader's castle resided and where Ezra had trained with Vader. Somehow it was fitting, the Inquisitor mused as he struggled to get his heart to work normally.

Mustafar was where Ezra Bridger, Jedi Padawan, died. 

Mustafar was where the Grand Inquisitor was born. 

And as Ezra dragged the tip of his lightsaber on the durasteel floor, melting through it like it was nothing and leaving a glowing orange trail in his wake, The Inquisitor finally acknowledged what Ezra was, who Ezra was and it was breathtaking. 

The prophesied Sith'ari, the Dark Savior who would bring power untold to the Sith.

Ezra finally got close enough, cocking his head to the side as he realized the change in the Inquisitor. He had closed his eyes and kept his face calm, despite the healthy amount of fear he knew was still resonating through the Force. Then Ezra laughed and the harsh sound made the cowardly part of the Inquisitor want to shrivel up and hide. 

"Tu zioplys." Ezra hissed, his voice sounding deeper and more ancient as he spoke in the ancient Sith Tongue, eyes flashing a deep gold so quick it seemed like a figment of his imagination. "Tik dabar, sso tave qorit, isar tu moketi."

'You fool. Only now, at the end, do you understand.'

"Now that's... unexpected." The Inquisitor painfully maneuvered himself so that he was kneeling, the added weight on his broken leg making him cry out. Eventually, he did it and he looked up at the Savior, whose lightsaber was nearly pressing into his neck, fear and awe coloring his features. Then he closed his eyes and waited for the killing blow. 

It never came. 

The lack of pain and eventually his confusion prompted him to open his eyes. He saw the Sith'ari looking at him thoughtfully, though the lightsaber was still inches from away decapitating him. The suspense was infuriating. 

"Do it!" he eventually yelled, frustration getting the better of him as fear worked its way into his mind. "You said if you saw me, you would kill me, so do it!"

The Sith'ari only smirked and moved his lightsaber away, eyes glancing at the closed blast doors before looking back down at him. "I guess I changed my mind."

They stayed there for a while, saying nothing while slowly becoming aware of their audience. 

The entire Ghost crew was watching them, standing by the end of the ship's ramp, expressions frozen in various depictions of fear, confusion, surprise, and awe. 

Finally, the Jedi stepped forward. "Ezra-" he started, walking to them with a hand on his hip and a finger pointed at the Savior's face.

He didn't get far, as the Inquisitor had dissolved into wheezing laughter, punctuated by hacking coughs that brought up the sharp tang of iron. All eyes moved to him. 

"What?" The Jedi asked irritably, not privy to being interrupted. 

"Oh, nothing." The Pureblood said, finally moving his gaze from the Sith'ari to the Jedi. "You're clueless, aren't you? You have no clue what he is."

The unimpressed look he got was all the answer he needed. 

He laughed again, the resulting laughing fit causing blood to dribble out of the corners of his mouth. As he looked to Ezra again, he dimly noted that he had a few loose teeth. "You're going to be..." he coughed again, spitting blood onto the floor. "...spectacular."

The blast doors leading into the factory opened with a clang and Ezra tensed. There was the sound of blaster bolts firing and the Pureblood cried out in alarm, as every single energy bullet was aimed for Ezra. 

Not even bothering to look, the Dark Savior threw out a hand and the blaster bolts froze in place, crackling and vibrating. Fear and confusion filled the air as the Stormtrooper battalion that had fired realized what had happened. 

Another push and the bolts of energy were flung back to their sources, all hitting their mark. 

Then a Stormtrooper decided to open their mouth. "Focus fire on the Jedi!" 

Ezra stiffened at this, his head snapping up and eyes immediately locking on the trooper who'd spoken. It was a Stormtrooper Captain, identifiable by the shoulder guard he wore over his otherwise unimpressive white armor. Snarling, he started forward, deflecting blaster bolts as he went, each bolt of energy hitting its mark with deadly accuracy. 

Reaching out a hand and pulling, Ezra stabbed a trooper through the chest, throwing his body aside. It hit the floor with a clatter of armor. He jumped forward, slashing upward through two different people and twisted, impaling another.

It was an honor to watch such wanton destruction. 

* * *

The ride back into friendly space was not, ironically, a pleasant one. 

Hera had lost the fight on whether or not Ezra should be put in handcuffs, so here he was, strapped to the wall like a common thief. It wasn't until they'd made the jump to hyperspace, and Hera spent a few long moments yelling at the crew, that anyone decided to grace him with their presence. 

"Well, well, well," Ezra said, without looking at them. "How nice of you to join me."

"Look at me." Kanan's voice sounded strained. 

Ezra obeyed. 

"Something wrong?" He blinked his blue eyes like a convor. 

"Drop the act, kid," Zeb snarled. "We all saw you out there. You killed that battalion without _blinking_. How can you sit there and-?"

_"Zeb."_

Cue the Mama Bear. 

Hera stepped out from behind Zeb's bulk. She opened her mouth to say something, her green eyes wide, but Kanan pushed her back. 

"Ezra," he said. "Show her." He closed his eyes tightly. "Just show her."

Ezra hesitated. Hera was the one person he had hoped would just skip over the abnormality that he was. He was busy trying to send Hera an apology through the Force, trying to let her know that he hadn't wanted her to get caught up in this, to know what he was-

Someone picked him up by the front of his vest and slammed him against the wall. When his head hit the durasteel, Ezra's concentration shattered and his shields fell. 

Kanan gasped as though someone stabbed him and he pawed at his chest, falling to a knee. Zeb, meanwhile, had dropped Ezra in surprise, for he had seen his eyes. 

Looking up, Ezra saw everyone staring at him and his burning golden eyes. 

"Wow," scoffed Kanan, looking at Ezra in disappointment. "You really have gone dark."

Ezra said nothing. He turned his head to stare at some cargo crates instead. 

"You know what, Ezra? I saw what happened back there. You could have killed that guy, and you didn't. You took _mercy_ on him."

Turning his head, Ezra smiled at Kanan, the grin splitting his face until it looked too wide to be natural. 

"You call that mercy?" he asked, the coldness in his voice making Sabine shiver. "Imagine you spend your whole life hunting down the guy that knifed your father, and when you finally find him..." He paused, solely for dramatic effect. "...he whips you like a dog." His emotions started getting away from him them, and the fight started playing back in his mind's eye. A thrill shot up his spine. 

"How do you think that feels? That kid's gonna spend his whole life knowing that he had his shot and that he couldn't beat me." 

He scoffed this time, not even attempting to keep up the facade any longer.

"That ain't mercy. That's the worst thing I could have done to him."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kudos and comments are appreciated :)

**Author's Note:**

> kudos and comments are appreciated :)


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